August 2012 Archives

August 26, 2012

With 161 million members, there’s no doubt that there no dearth of untapped potential on LinkedIn especially if you are selling to businesses.

If you are looking for leads, then there’s no better place to begin than on LinkedIn since even most executives in the Fortune 500 are present on LinkedIn.

So here are 3 ways by which you can use LinkedIn to find prospects:

#1: Develop both connection and get in touch second-degree connections

Your first-degree connections are people who you are directly connected to on LinkedIn while your second-degree connections are those people that the latter are connected. So, a thumb of rule for anyone who wants to exploit these types of connections, the warmer your relationship is with your first-degree connections, the easier it will be to get in touch with second degree connections.

#2: Watch the Newsfeed

When you click “Home” on LinkedIn, you’ll find updates from your connections, and almost always there is someone who they are connected to that you will like to be introduced to. Often, this part of LinkedIn is ignored for others but the truth is that you can not only make new connections this way (that leads to getting business) but you can also use it for competitive advantage since viewing their updates regularly will keep you in touch – and you can use InMail to get in touch with the prospect.

#3: Search for new business on LinkedIn Groups and Answers

One of the best places to start looking for prospects is LinkedIn Groups and Answers where you can answer questions (by offering your expertise) for those who are potential prospects and then start building relationships with them. Just remember to be helpful (no pitching immediately please!) at the beginning.

August 29, 2012

Need to attract more visitors to your site — after a negative review about your products or services? We’ve all experienced the sting of a negative review, and unfortunately it hurts more than our feelings. Negative reviews on sites such as Yelp and Citysearch can be detrimental to the health of any business and must be carefully handled to avoid more damage. How about fighting back with some healthy dose of online reputation management? Oh yeah, that’s an integral part of internet marketing these days, mastered by some of the top SEO companies in the industry.

Up until recently, the role of reputation management was played by top PR firms. But when it comes to online reputation management, SEO companies are undertaking this sensitive responsibility and doing a good job at it, too. What makes them authorities on the subject? Dealing with search engine content is their forte, and it takes knowing the specific algorithms and dances of the search engines to either push down negative information on the web or own industry keywords – the two main tactics of online reputation management.

A negative review happens to the best of us, but coming up with a proactive way to deal with it will put you ahead of the game. Find an SEO agency (you can search for one at www.topseofirms.com) that offers online reputation management and watch them do wonders for your brand and reputation. As with any SEO practice, patience is required, which means you might have to invest in a long-term commitment, but all the hard work will be followed by a rise of positive content in search results, and more importantly (walla!) more traffic to your site.